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Major roads blocked by agitators included Sohna Road and Daultabad flyover, among others. Manoj Kumar

The agitation by the Jat community — for reservation in government jobs and educational institutes under the Other Backwards Classes (OBC) category — spread to Gurgaon Friday, with protesters blocking all major intersections and several roads, bringing the city to a halt.

Rashtriya Jat Mahasabha spokesperson Paramjit Pawadia said the blockade was indefinite and would continue till their demand for reservation was met. “While the Congress government provided reservation to Jats under the OBC category, the apex court struck it down because the present day BJP government did not want to give reservation to the Jats. It is our right and we will not give up till our demand is met,” he said. However, he said it would be a peaceful agitation.

The situation worsened around noon. Several schools asked parents to come pick up their children. “Severe traffic jam on Sohna Road. Bus routes S-8, S-11, S-14 will not be able to ply. The kids are retained in the school. Parents may pick up these kids from school,” read a message from The Heritage School.

The Gurgaon traffic control room received numerous calls from commuters, who said they had been waiting for nearly two hours on the blocked roads.

The Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road and roads near IFFCO Chowk and HUDA City Centre Metro stations were also blocked.

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The situation on National Highway-8 and DLF Cyber Hub, which houses many IT companies, also remained tense throughout the day.
“Personnel from the Crime Branch, police commissioner’s office and other offices have been deployed across the city to maintain law and order,” said Gurgaon Police spokesperson ACP Hawa Singh.

Delhi Police have beefed up security, anticipating the Jat quota agitation to spread to the capital. Sources said police have received several calls from different areas about groups gathering in connection with the agitation in Haryana. ADCP (outer) Pankaj Kumar Singh said, “We are on alert and keeping a tab on the situation. The staff, specially on the border areas, have been asked to increase their vigil.”

Water supply to many parts of the city is likely to take a hit as protesters have blocked the Munak canal. Plants likely to be severely affected are the ones at Dwarka, Bawana, Nangloi, Haiderpur and Okhla.